'Star Wars' rules card show at an expo not so far away

Attending a comic book event are members of the Garrison Carida, a local… (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO )

May 03, 2013|By Tim Higgins, Special to The Morning Call

Meet Tim Wimbush.

By day he's a mild-mannered human resources manager living and working just outside Philadelphia. But during his off hours Wimbush proudly dons a costume he made himself and literally becomes sinister interstellar bounty hunter Boba Fett.

If this sounds kind of "Star Wars" geeky, well, it is.

"I've heard the Star Wars geek comments," Wimbush says with laugh. "But whenever people don't understand what we do I tell them about the charities, the expense and the hard work that goes into this."

Wimbush is one of thousands of "Star Wars" fans who are part of a worldwide organization of people who dress like "Star Wars" characters — Imperial Stormtroopers, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, for example — and call themselves the 501st Legion. Wimbush's regional chapter, which focuses on the Dark Side characters, is called Garrison Carida. It spends a lot of time working with charitable organizations.

Wimbush and fellow Garrison Carida members will participate in the 58th Philly Non-Sport Card Show at the Merchants Square Mall in Allentown this weekend. The gathering of trading card dealers, manufacturers and artists has a "Star Wars" theme and "Star Wars" trading card artists and illustrators scheduled to appear are Sean Pence, Dave Sharpe, Lark Sudol, Jeff Zapata, Matt Glebe, Mick Glebe and Rhiannon Owens.

The event happens to start on Saturday, May 4, which is internationally celebrated as "Star Wars Day."

Six or seven members of Garrison Carida will attend the show Sunday, as Darth Vader and a squad of Stormtroopers. They'll shake hands, pose for pictures and sign trading cards.

"It's really all about the smile you see on kids' faces," says Wimbush.

Wimbush was only 6 years old when the original "Star Wars" movie debuted May 25, 1977, but the film changed his life.

That's the way it is with those in the 501st Legion.

The Legion was founded by Albin Johnson and Tom Crews in South Carolina in 1997 as both a way to organize fans and help charities, especially those fighting cancer. In 2005, Johnson's 6-year-old daughter Katie was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. A "Star Wars" fan like her father, Johnson was determined to create a fully functioning R2-D2 droid to look over Katie, just as R2-D2 had looked over Padme while she slept in the films.

"Star Wars" fans around the world responded with donations. The droid, named R2-KT and painted pink (her favorite color), was built and given to Katie just before she died. R2-KT has appeared in the "Star Wars" films as a tribute and is used at charity functions to this day.

Members of the 501st Legion escorted "Star Wars" creator and film director George Lucas during his ride as Grand Marshal of the 2007 Parade of Roses. They were 200 men and women dressed in the gleaming white armor of Imperial Stormtroopers.

The Legion boasts a membership of more than 6,000, is active on six continents and has regional clubs (called Garrisons and Outposts) in almost 50 countries.

They come from all walks of life — male and female, young and old. They take their love of "Star Wars" very seriously, with more than 9,700 professionally rendered and "Lucas-approved" costumes among them, earning the Legion the title of "World's Definitive Imperial Star Wars Costuming Organization." Lucasfilm Ltd. often uses groups members in its sponsored events.

"We don't get paid for this," says Wimbush. "The Legion is a 100 percent volunteer organization and as a rule, members do not make any personal profit from their appearances."

As Wimbush recalls, it was eight or nine years ago that he went to an event where members of the 501st Legion were appearing. He was hooked.

"Seeing the stormtroopers live in action," says Wimbush. "I became a member right away. Our garrison kind of sprung up around 2002. We have 125 members throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia. We travel to shows and charity events from Erie to Allentown to Philadelphia."

For those of you thinking of joining, it's not so easy. You must be at least 18 years old and own at least one qualifying professional-quality costume.

"You have to have created your own costume," Wimbush says. "And it must meet the requirements of the 501st."

"A majority of us can barely screw in a light bulb," Wimbush says with a laugh. "We rely on other members to help us out. We get together at meetings and some of us are really very good at costuming … they could work for major Hollywood studios. There's a real art to it."

The costumes often involve a kind of futuristic body armor which is made from materials such as ABS plastic, vinyl, resin or fiberglass. Wimbush portrays two characters — Boba Fett and a standard storm trooper.

Will Disney's recent acquisition of the "Star Wars" franchise have any impact on the Legion?

"If anything, it will breathe new life into the franchise and create a new generation of 'Star Wars' fans," Wimbush says.